Residents embrace community policing

March 26, 2003|By Patricia Trebe. Special to the Tribune.

Charles Graham, a resident of the St. Pat's neighborhood in Joliet, keeps several emergency numbers handy in case he needs to contact the Joliet Police Department. In addition to 911, they include the work, cell phone, and pager numbers of Ed Johnson, a Joliet police officer assigned to the neighborhood and its approximately 800 residents as part of the Neighborhood Oriented Policing program.

"If we have questions, or there are abandoned cars, zoning violations, anything, we give him a call," said Graham, a member of the St. Pat's Neighborhood Association. "It's the little things that are taken care of before they become larger things."

Twenty-four officers are assigned to the Neighborhood Policing Program, which puts police officers on the beat and assigned to specific neighborhoods.

"It puts a face and a name to the Police Department," Graham said. "My kids know [Johnson] by name. He's always out here walking around, stopping to talk. In the summer, he's up on the porch talking to everyone. He shows a vested interest in what we are doing and how we are doing."

The Neighborhood Oriented Policing program was implemented by Joliet Police Chief David Gerdes to address the needs of one of the state's fastest-growing communities.

Last year the Joliet Police Department responded to approximately 25,000 more calls than it did 10 years ago. That higher number isn't a result of a crime wave but rather a combination of a population boom and Gerdes' desire to involve residents in their own policing.

With 36,182 households and 30,000 more residents than 10 years ago, Joliet's police receive numerous calls from residents reporting speeders, someone disobeying a stop sign or a suspicious person. Gerdes credits these types of calls to the added presence of the police, not a lack of it.

"Those larger numbers don't mean there is more crime," Gerdes said. "By working with the community, we will get more calls for service."

Gerdes has realigned the city's police districts, adding three additional sectors, or patrol areas, on the west and east sides. Each of 14 sectors is patrolled 24 hours a day.

As a result, the city's 265 sworn police officers are responding to more calls. Joliet's crime rate has decreased 54 percent in the last 10 years based on the Uniform Crime Index statistics released by the Illinois State Police.

"And neighborhood policing is a big factor in that," said Joliet Mayor Arthur Schultz. "Because the police are in the neighborhoods, in the schools, on the playground and out with the citizens."

Schultz was a Joliet police officer before he became mayor and said he places a high priority on providing superior public services. No matter what the growth rate, officers will be added as needed in order to maintain the police response time of 4 to 5 1/2 minutes, he said.

"Growth has not affected services," Schultz said.

As the city expands farther west, plans call for a police substation in 2004 in that area when a fire station is moved, Schultz said.

Few police departments in Will County have experienced the kind of change Joliet has in the last 10 years. Although many have grown at record rates, Joliet has had to cope with not only a population explosion but also with the addition of two riverboat casinos, Silver Cross Field (a minor-league ballpark that opened in May), a water park inaugurated last summer and roads adjacent to a national NASCAR racetrack with a 100,000-person capacity.

There were initial fears that the riverboats would increase crime, but the department has seen a decrease in every year since the casinos opened except 1997, which saw an 8 percent increase. The riverboats have increased revenue for the city, and some of that has trickled down to the Police Department. The money helps pay for equipment, patrol cars and a new facility that opened in 1998, Gerdes said.

Months before the first race at Chicagoland Speedway, half of a racing complex that includes the Route 66 Raceway, the department joined the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Will County Sheriff's Police and the Illinois State Police in studying other racetracks throughout the country to develop a security and traffic plan.

During each of the nationally televised races held in the summer, more than 100,000 people headed to the track, which could have created a logistical nightmare on the surrounding streets. Gerdes rented a helicopter to monitor the traffic flow. A corner-by-corner traffic detail was assigned and every possibility was reviewed. Once a street became too clogged, traffic was diverted.

"Obviously, the Joliet Police Department is crucial to what we do out here," said Ken Kohrs, director of operations for Chicagoland Speedway. "And their role in the traffic plan is monumental."

The department also provides on-site crowd control and public safety. Kohrs said he credits the security on site and around it with the lack of incidents at the speedway.

Joliet Police Chief David Gerdes

Age: 52

Wife: Peggy

Born: Minonk, Ill.

Education: Bachelor's degree in law and government from the University of St. Francis, Joliet; training through the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Va.

Management experience: Served with the Joliet Police Department for 30 years; chief of police for the last three years.

Biggest challenge: "Keeping all facets of the community and the department satisfied is one of the biggest challenges. We will never completely attain that, but we have made improvements. The cooperation from the community is incredible, and by working together we can attain many of the goals we set out to do."